Ways Parents Can Help

Studying is not just completing homework. Study is the way your child learns to remember and apply facts. Study turns factual knowledge into understanding. Studying is the key to success in school and good study habits are the skills your child will use as a working adult.

Make studying a HABIT and BE CONSISTENT! Self-confidence comes from realizing the benefits of hard work and understanding that we each have "control" over challenges in our lives. Learn to MANAGE TIME WISELY

These guidelines are useful:

• Homework comes before play.

• Quality is critically important.

• Help your child prioritize assignments.

• Monitor your child to help them avoid "wasting time."

• Encourage students to make a chart which shows how they use each minute of the day. Block out a time for studying. Have your student chart the number of minutes he spends each day on homework. Display the chart.

• Use "time" as a reward for meeting a specific goal. (20 min. each afternoon on homework and 20 min. each day of outside reading. This may be an extra hour with friends, a special game, or time with mom and dad.)

• Studying is THINKING. There are two facts to remember about thinking: You can concentrate on only one thing at a time. Secondly, you can't learn a subject unless you think about it. Keep the study area free from noise and other distractions.

• Eliminate Common Distractions people moving around or talking younger children playing cluttered work areas television radio or stereo.

• Avoid Common Interruptions telephone calls friends dropping in. chores siblings

• Provide Physical Conditions that help good light right temperature table or desk good posture (good chair)
• Plan for Study Breaks Set a timer or finish a particular assignment and take a short break. You learn the most at the beginning and at the end of a study session. With more breaks, you have more beginnings and more endings.

• Motivation and Consequences It is in your child's best interest to focus on "earned" praise and "earned" rewards. Many children who have problems in school believe that either luck or ease of the task are responsible for their success. We must teach them that they "control" the consequences that come to them by working hard, using their mind and being persistent!

• You raise what you praise!   Do praise students for working hard. We cannot just expect children to study, we must show them how important they are to us, how important their success is and how proud we are of the effort they are extending. In determining consequences, powerful motivators for students are money, clothing, electricity (ration TV, radio, telephone, video games, etc.) time spent with friends, special loved ones or social activities.

Assist your child with homework by:

• Providing encouragement and support
• Establishing a well lit area away from distractions
• Establishing a consistent time for study each day
• Assisting with assignments when necessary
• Establishing a regular "drop spot" (a consistent place where students can put school papers after the homework is complete to insure homework returns to school each day)
• Supervising and signing the homework calendar
• Conferring with teachers regarding any homework questions or concerns
• Rewarding your child for doing their job
• Eliminate distractions (TV, radio, telephone, etc.)

How can we avoid the "Homework Hassles?"

Problem 1: “My child says that he/she does not have homework, but the teacher says that homework is not being turned in”.

Ask the teacher to send a note home when homework is not assigned.   Establish other "academic activities' (e.g. reading a book, writing letters, writing in a journal, practicing spelling words) that your child will do for at least a portion of the scheduled homework time when no homework is assigned.

Problem 2: “Occasionally the work MY child brings home is too difficult and I am not sure how to teach it to my child”.

Homework should be material that has been introduced in class. Your child should be familiar with the assignment before it comes home. You are not expected to introduce new material to your child.  Contact your child's teacher and discuss the difficulty of the homework assignments.

Problem 3: “I have other things to do and I can't spend 30 minutes to an hour with my child”.

Fine. Get your child-started on his/her homework. Check back in 15 or 20 minutes to be sure that he/she is still working.  When all work is done, check for completion and praise your child for his/her effort.

Problem 4: “My child will simply NOT do his/her homework”.

Establish some additional reinforcement for completion of assignments (e.g., a special event, a treat, a special privilege).  Set up a chart and record a point for each complete assignment.

A HOMEWORK SUPER STAR

If you complete your homework, you can earn the following treats.

POINTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TREATS

_______ . . . . . . . . ._________________________

_______ . . . . . . . . ._________________________

_______ . . . . . . . . ._________________________

POINTS FOR:

1 - Started homework on time with no reminders.

1 - Completed an assignment.

Date: